1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multiple-deck magnetic information recording and reproducing apparatus for dubbing recorded information from one magnetic recording medium to another magnetic recording medium.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are known double-deck video tape recorders and audio tape recorders. Such a double-deck video tape recorder or audio tape recorder has two tape cassette slots defined in one housing for inserting and discharging respective magnetic recording mediums such as video tape cassettes or audio tape cassettes. In a dubbing mode, the double-deck video tape recorder or audio tape recorder operates to reproduce recorded information from one of the inserted tape cassettes while recording the reproduced information on the other inserted tape cassette.
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows the front panel, designated by the reference numeral 1, of a box-shaped housing of a conventional double-deck video tape recorder. The housing accommodates a pair of first and second drive mechanisms 13, 14 for recording information on and reproducing information from respective video tape cassettes which may be of the VHS or 8-mm format, for example. The first and second drive mechanisms 13, 14 include respective loading mechanisms for loading and unloading the magnetic tapes in the video tape cassettes. The panel 1 has a pair of juxtaposed left and right tape cassette slots 2, 3 defined therein for inserting the video tape cassettes into the respective first and second drive mechanisms 13, 14. After the video tape cassettes have been inserted into the respective first and second drive mechanisms 13, 14 through the tape cassette slots 2, 3, the magnetic tapes are pulled from the video tape cassettes and wound around respective drums in the first and second drive mechanisms 13, 14 by the loading mechanisms. Then, one of the magnetic tapes is played back, or desired information is recorded thereon. After the playback or recording mode, one or both of the video tape cassettes are ejected from one or both of the tape cassettes slots 2, 3.
The front panel 1 has a first group 4 of control keys for recording information on and reproducing information from the video tape cassette which is loaded in the first drive mechanism 13. The first group 4 of control keys is positioned on a lower left portion of the front panel 1 below the tape cassette slot 2. Similarly, the front panel 1 has a second group 5 of control keys for recording information on and reproducing information from the video tape cassette which is loaded in the second drive mechanism 14. The second group 5 of control keys is positioned on a lower right portion of the front panel 1 below the tape cassette slot 3.
When any one of the control keys of the first and second groups 4, 5 is pressed by the operator, it is illuminated by its own light source, highlighting an indicia marked thereon. The control keys of the first and second groups 4, 5 are used to record information on, reproduce information from, feed, rewind, and stop the magnetic tapes in the video tape cassettes.
More specifically, the control keys include rewind keys 6A, 6B for rewinding the magnetic tapes, playback keys 7A, 7B for reproducing information from the magnetic tapes, fast-forward keys 8A, 8B for feeding the magnetic tapes quickly, pause keys 9A, 9B for temporarily stopping the magnetic tapes, stop keys 10A, 10B for stopping the magnetic tapes, and record keys 11A, 11B for recording information on the magnetic tapes.
The front panel 1 also has eject keys 12A, 12B positioned respectively above the tape cassette slots 2, 3 for ejecting the video tape cassettes from the first and second drive mechanisms 13, 14 through the respective tape cassette slots 2, 3.
A dubbing mode for copying recorded information from one of the inserted video tape cassettes to the other video tape cassette is carried out according to the following procedure:
It is assumed that both the first and second drive mechanisms 13, 14 are capable of recording information on and reproducing information from VHS-format video tape cassettes.
First, a recorded video tape cassette is inserted into the first drive mechanism 13 through the tape cassette slot 2, and a video tape cassette, which is preferably unrecorded, is inserted into the second drive mechanism 14 through the tape cassette slot 3. The video tape cassettes inserted into the first and second drive mechanisms 13, 14 through the tape cassette slots 2, 3 will be referred to as video tape cassettes A, B, respectively.
After the magnetic tapes in the inserted video tape cassettes have been loaded, the rewind key 6A is pressed to rewind the magnetic tape in the video tape cassette A until a start position on the magnetic tape in the video tape cassette B is reached.
The rewind key 6B is also pressed to rewind the magnetic tape in the video tape cassette B until a start position on the magnetic tape in the video tape cassette B is reached.
Then, if desired information is to be dubbed to the video tape cassette B, an input source setting is switched from the video tape cassette B to the VTR 1. Such an input source setting is achieved by an input source selector key which is usually located not on the front panel 1, but on a rear, side, or lower panel of the housing.
Thereafter, the playback key 7A is pressed to start reproducing recorded information from the video tape cassette A in the first drive mechanism 13.
The record key 11B is also pressed to start recording the information that is being reproduced from the video tape cassette A, on the magnetic tape in the video tape cassette B from the start position thereon.
As described above, it is necessary to press at least five keys to perform the dubbing mode. After the dubbing mode, the stop keys 10A, 10B are pressed stop the magnetic tapes in the video tape cassettes A, B, and then the eject keys 12A, 12B are pressed to eject the video tape cassettes A, B from the first and second tape cassette slots 2, 3, respectively.
However, inasmuch as the conventional double-deck video tape recorders and audio tape recorders have required many control keys on the front panel, the operator has found it quite cumbersome to operate on the control keys, and the double-deck tape recorders are relatively expensive to manufacture.